Category Archives: Features

All the ingredients for a special dining experience have come together at one of New Albany’s newest restaurants — experience, vision, an inspirational setting, and a commitment to excellent service.

Brooklyn and the Butcher, which opened in February, is the latest venture for Ian Hall, who established his reputation with The Exchange Pub & Kitchen, considered by many among the best dining spots on either side of the Ohio River. Continue reading Profile: Brooklyn and the Butcher→

Making good Bourbon takes a long time. So does making a master distiller. These artisans of alcohol must learn every aspect of the Bourbon business, and once they rise to the top, they tend to stay there — often for decades. Continue reading Bourbon in Transition→

We live in a microwave world where most people expect to get what they want immediately. But Chef John Varanese is proof that a little delayed gratification can be just as sweet. Varanese fell in love 15 years ago, not with a person but with a location. It took 15 years for him to get what he wanted, but in March the River House Restaurant and Raw Bar opened on the very spot that Varanese had coveted. That story, from love at first sight to grand opening, had enough twists and turns to fill a romance novel.Continue reading River House Restaurant and Raw Bar — A dream deferred→

For three years a massive project has been going on at the Speed Art Museum, a transformation of the staid 1927 Neo-classical landmark into a new space that will be a center of education, exploration and appreciation of creativity in all its forms. Along with a modern addition that invites the community in, it is also an institution alive with ideas of reaching out.

Three friends open the Butchertown Grocery, a culinary and entertainment venue where the community can get its collective groove on.

Quantum mechanics established long ago that one person could not exist in two places at the same time, but Chef Bobby Benjamin still had to learn this lesson the hard way. Benjamin was the executive chef at La Coop until the downtown restaurant closed in 2014. He then found himself working at Union Common in Nashville while his wife, Hannah, and their baby daughter, Copeland Pearl, stayed in Louisville. When Benjamin was in one city he often found himself thinking about what was going on in the other one. This dilemma was solved at the end of 2015 when Benjamin opened the Butchertown Grocery with attorney Jon Salomon and musician Patrick Hallahan, the drummer for My Morning Jacket.Continue reading Butchertown Grocery — A kitchen of his own→

Louisville is quickly becoming famous as a world-class food city. Its evolution in this regard over the past 25 years has been remarkable. From a few solitary outposts, the area has developed an abundance of ethnic, international, fusion and chef-inspired venues where diners can satisfy almost any culinary curiosity. Continue reading PERSONALITY, STYLE AND CREATIVITY SHINE AT LE MOO→

This is Food & Dining’s 50th issue, an occasion we saw fitting to review what has transpired in the dozen or so years this magazine has chronicled restaurants in Louisville and its immediate environs. Those years have seen a time of surging interest in food and drink, and how both are made and prepared. Continue reading 50 ISSUES of Comings & Goings→

Many who remember Casa Grisanti say restaurant service in Louisville was never better. And those who really know their restaurants can point to places such as Vincenzo’s, Corbett’s, the English Grill and others as standard bearers of that service tradition. Not ironically, a handful of employees at those three restaurants were veterans of Casa Grisanti, most notable among them, Vincenzo Gabrielle. He was hired as the restaurant’s maître d’ in 1975 and later became a partner with Michael Grisanti. Continue reading Vinnie & the Vets→